Because I said so.

"When the centurion heard about Jesus, he sent some Jewish elders to Jesus to ask him to come and heal his servant.  When they came to Jesus, they earnestly pleaded with Jesus.  'He deserves to have you do this for him,' they said.  'He loves our people and he built our synagogue for us.'
Jesus went with them.  He had almost reached the house when the centurion sent friends to say to Jesus, 'Lord, don’t be bothered.  I don’t deserve to have you come under my roof.  In fact, I didn’t even consider myself worthy to come to you.  Just say the word and my servant will be healed.  I’m also a man appointed under authority, with soldiers under me.  I say to one, ‘Go,’ and he goes, and to another, ‘Come,’ and he comes.  I say to my servant, ‘Do this,’ and the servant does it.'
When Jesus heard these words, he was impressed with the centurion.  He turned to the crowd following him and said, 'I tell you, even in Israel I haven’t found faith like this.” Luke 7:3-9
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When I was young, my father was a United States' soldier, and much of his instruction to me came from that perspective.  My brothers and I were often given the answer, "Because I said so", when we would ask why we had to say, think, or do something a certain way.  When I was young, most families also used, "Because I said so" in their homes: parents and children understood the value of obedience simply because...  I'm older now, and recognize how families and perspectives have changed.


Now, parents are being told that the words, "Because I said so", should (pretty much) be eliminated from their vocabulary, because it devalues a child's sense of self and will impair a parent's relationship with him/her.  I am being told to think that when I speak to my children in this manner, it hinders their ability to learn from me.  This is sad, not just because it is untrue, but because training children to do as they are told simply out of respect for authority - despite their inability to fully know or understand why - is where faith begins.  Tragically, epidemically, it is becoming more and more obvious that our children, and many of this nation's citizens, are now suffering from a severe deficiency of faith.


Every child begins with a mother and a father; because, this is God's design and life (even in its smallest measure) cannot be known without adhering to His plan.  For God's glory and in His image, a father and a mother form the protective, nurturing, and guiding authority for the offspring who has also been created to express His glorious image.  Unfortunately for families and societies, people have been playing with His plan since its inception; though, all along, it would have been best to strictly abide in it.  Getting all creative with God's original design, people have tried to change and glorify what it is to be a family to suit their own plans; however, every change darkens and removes God's glorious image from the family portrait.

One way or another, however, we are all required to submit to the authorities that God has placed over us (regardless of how those in authority submit themselves to God), even from the moment of conception.  Parents now can take the life of their unborn, or they can nurture, guide, and protect the life of their child as it begins in the womb until the time their life is taken from them.  Choosing the latter for their offspring, parents can and should maintain the authority in their home; this is their responsibility for the parent/child relationship.  And, being the intelligent and impressionable creatures that they are, children all have the opportunity to grow wise and in faith, or foolish and disbelieving, depending on how well they maintain the parent/child relationship by submitting to their parents' authority.  Submitting their own authority to God, parents will see blessings in their family for generations; rejecting authority - in any measure - within a family insures the opposite of God's blessing.

As a young child, when I heard the words, "Because I said so", (irregardless of the tone and volume used to speak them) I knew that there should be no more discussion from me.  I knew that I simply needed to obey; because, by not doing so, something not-so-good would happen to me.  When I disobeyed, I found out that, what I knew would happen to me, often did.  The older I got, the more my father was able to offer me information regarding the process of how and why something bad always happens to those who are disobedient, as well as show me how and why the most glorious of relationships always endures through obedience.  I have discovered that growing in faith in the Kingdom of God works similarly.

Our faith grows or disappears in relation to how well we value God: to seek His glory, His authority, and submit to His ways.  The Apostle Paul made disciples for Christ in many places, and gave a lot of instruction on how to continue that kind of work.  Teaching the next generation on how to relate to all who belong in the Body of Christ, he said, "Do not rebuke an older man harshly, but exhort him as if he were your father.  Treat younger men as brothers, older women as mothers, and younger women as sisters, with absolute purity. (1 Timothy 5:1-2)".  Paul understood what it meant to belong to the family of God, and clearly instructed on how every disciple - regardless of age - should view this reality.  The purpose of our relationships in our churches is to 'grow up' in Him - in humility and under His authority to speak, think, and act - to glorify our Father.

Though everyone is created in the image of God, not all are able to provide the miraculous blessings of God; because not everyone chooses to humble themselves in submission to the Father's authority, relatively few people ever realize what it is to be a member of God's family.  Jesus said, "...Who is my mother, and who are my brothers?'  Pointing to his disciples, he said, 'Here are my mother and my brothers.  For whoever does the will of my Father in heaven is my brother and sister and mother. (Matthew 12:48-50)”.  Too often, we actually destroy our faith by falsely believing: it is through being close to someone which enables us to give and receive the greatest benefits of the relationship.  Instead of thinking anything like, "You don't know me well enough to tell me what to do", we should think more like, "Tell me what to do, because I see evidence in your life that you obey the heavenly Father".  The more we live under His authority, the better we learn to submit to God, and the more mature we become; growing in these disciplines, our humility and relationship gain us the ability to understand the Father and the greater blessings of always being His child.


In the Scripture passage quoted at the top of this blog, the centurion displays the kind of knowledge that faith requires, and Jesus declares the fact that such knowledge and such faith escapes most people (sadly, as Jesus noted, it even escapes God's own people).  The centurion fully understood the connection between authority, obedience, and blessing, and it was credited to him as faith.  Though he had not been raised under God's Law, as soon as the Roman soldier discovered the One True God, he did everything he could to participate in the miraculous benefits of abiding with Him and His people.  In complete humility, he understood that a relatively close relationship with Jesus was not required to receive the blessings of God ("I don’t deserve to have you come under my roof.  In fact, I didn’t even consider myself worthy to come to you.").  By witnessing - even from a distance - what was gained and lost when Jesus spoke, the centurion simply believed in Jesus: he believed that Jesus was who He claimed to be, and that He was someone he could trust with his life and the lives of those he valued.

Faith, like a person, starts small.  With parents' discipline, and a child's humbled submission, individuals gain a good sense of self, but something much more important, too: a sense of belonging.  Expecting obedience at the smallest level is a beautiful and glorious thing; it can usher people towards a relationship with Jesus, enabling them to know His blessings and benefits for this life, and throughout eternity!

Climate change

"As Jesus was sitting on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to him privately. 'Tell us,' they said, '...what will be the sign of your coming and of the end of the age?'...Jesus answered: 'Watch out that no one deceives you...Because of the increase of wickedness, the love of most will grow cold..." - Matthew 24:3-12
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How green are we?  How aware of the recent climate changes attributed to that hypothesis which is so-called 'global warming' are our communities?  What kind of education should we be receiving to help us accommodate and relate better in this world we have inherited from past generations and are now passing on to our children?  Should we make any changes to our behavior in light of recent world altering events related to our current global climate change?


I've noticed some significant changes regarding our world's climate, but not in the way the media and academia portray it.  Please don't misunderstand me, I do appreciate our journalists and scientists trying to warn us about mistreating our environment!  However, I believe that many of their efforts are short-sighted, because they overwhelming lack vital information regarding our love for our Creator more than for His creation.


Many of us are very familiar with the term 'green with envy'.  And some of us are familiar with the fact that God refers to Himself as a "jealous God (found in: Exodus, Deuteronomy, Joshua, etc.)".  God's word is very descriptive - often frightening - on how He uses ALL creation to turn us back to Him when He sees us wandering from the path He chooses to walk with us on.  Jesus' instruction before His crucifixion, and His words of prophecy in the Book of Revelation, detail how this planet will be destroyed because of humanity's lack of regard - and love - for God.


We must be made aware of the fact that this is an incredibly difficult - yet crucial - time to pursue Godliness.  I've noticed that most of our world's leaders now only mention God when they can find some personal gain for it: they do not speak of God to build up their people's faith in Him and His ways, but so that - in accord with his/her agenda- their people's faith can be built up in the one speaking; unfortunately, this is often the case with religious leaders, too.


On the upside of all this, the love that people have for each other does seem to be increasing!  I have heard it said that this generation is the most 'cause conscience' generation in decades!  I believe that's true, but that can also be one of our biggest problems and the reason why the earth seems to be falling apart.  Jesus' words (as recorded in Matthew) were not to warn us about a lack of love for people, but of a severe and global lack of love for God that will be on display at the end of days.


I know that, to many people, what I think and believe regarding the connection of climate change and loving God is ridiculous.  At least - in my 'craziness for God' - I'm in good company; apparently, there were quite a few people in Paul's day that thought what he said was foolish, too.  According to his writings, Paul also seemed a bit out-of-touch with other people's reality when he attempted to issue warnings - connecting devotion to God with behavior - as he said, "I hope you will put up with me in a little foolishness. Yes, please put up with me! I am jealous for you with a godly jealousy. I promised you to one husband, to Christ, so that I might present you as a pure virgin to him. But I am afraid that just as Eve was deceived by the serpent’s cunning, your minds may somehow be led astray from your sincere and pure devotion to Christ. For if someone comes to you and preaches a Jesus other than the Jesus we preached, or if you receive a different spirit from the Spirit you received, or a different gospel from the one you accepted, you put up with it easily enough. (2 Corinthians 11:1-4)"  Christians need to speak this way more in our world: to help people make true, lasting, eternally beneficial changes in the way we think and behave, so that our love for our Creator is MORE evident than our love for His creation.


Our love for God is made complete when we love Him with our whole body: heart, soul, and mind - only in Christ is this possible - and results in eternal blessing for everyone who overcomes sin!  When we love God in this manner, we are then able to love others in the manner that glorifies Him.  Jesus did not tolerate sin, he destroyed it in His body.  That is the Gospel.  The good news for this world is that, in Him, sin no longer needs to be tolerated within us!  If we want to change our climate for the best, we have to stop sinning against God.

Who am I hurting?

Yesterday, a friend posted one of those postcard-y-looking things on Facebook.  It generated a lot of discussion.  The reason?  This is what it said, "If you have to make a law that hurts a number of people, just to prove your morals or faith, then you have no true morals or faith to prove."

The illogical circuitous language of that post is almost dizzying!  What my friend was trying to say is that he believes God has no business in the business of the United States government.  He disapproves of the United States' governments making and ratifying any legal contract with the citizens of this nation which would recognize marriages in this country to be solely male-female unions. The most sorrowful part of all this is that my friend also claims to be a Christian.


I understand what my friend believes.  It is the same mind-set that I see and hear play out in front of me over, and over, and over...  Basically, it's this, "Because, God loves everyone, the Gospel of Jesus means that we are free to do whatever we want!  And, as citizens of the United States we REALLY get to do whatever we want, because our Constitution says that the Church and the State are separate!  We are free to follow the laws of God or man in whatever manner we so desire - everyone's choices are only relative to the individual making them, and should be respected - so long as no one gets hurt..."  It's a terribly ignorant and foolish belief system; it has invaded and is spreading in our society and in our world like a malignant cancer.


I chose not to participate in the discussion yesterday.  My friend has been gnawing on the "Christians and U.S. citizens should just let everyone have sex with whoever they so desire" bone for awhile now, so he's heard enough Scripture as well as the testimonies of others - who know that homosexuality (and other sexual immoral behavior) is sinful and can be overcome in Christ - which should have helped him see more clearly by now.  From all I've witnessed from him, there is nothing more I could say that would be of any consequence to him.  But, because I find writing rather cathartic, and I'm still extremely frustrated by this brother-in-Christ's unholy and unprofitable pursuits, I chose to write my thoughts today.


The part of his thought process that bothers me the most - as a Christian - is the part where he thinks that by combining God's laws regarding righteousness with our now secularized nation's laws could result in any amount of pain to anyone.  How can someone who claims to believe in God think that?


The Bible is replete with information about how the Law is thoroughly beneficial for everyone!  Both the Old and the New Testaments are completely filled with instruction on how obedience to God leads to blessing - this truth was the belief system of our nation's founders - so, therefore, the Bible is the basis of our Constitution and government.


I am saddened by the reality that my FB friend - and other professing Christians - no longer care to seek God's favor for his country or my childrens' future in this world.  It has always been my experience that those who disobey God always end up hurting themselves and others FAR more than those who live and proclaim His moral standards.

When I began this blog, I looked up some of the key words in the message my friend posted yesterday.  The definition of the word "prove" has given me a small measure of peace regarding his agenda.  "Prove: to learn or find out by experience (http://www.merriam-webster.com)".  I know that there will come a day when he learns that the only ones who are hurt by requiring strict obedience to God's moral laws will be the ones who don't.  This gives me only a small measure of peace because, as I continue to impress God's laws on my children and others, I know that I will continue to be misunderstood and hated for my efforts; but, I also know that the day God judges and condemns those who oppose His laws, will be the day that I fully realize His grace and mercy!